Halloween is here, and so is another Conservative Rap Coalition Records sure-shot! This time the other half of Da Buze Brovaz, Clever 1, delivers twelve slabs of Philly heat produced by DJ Rocksteady. Throw your L’s up and don’t turn nothing down but the collar.

If you caught my footage of the Kool G Rap and DJ Polo show in Philly last year, you would have noticed that huge dude standing on stage next to G, chomping on a cigar. Turns out he’s a fellow by the name of Big Nawz, who is not only KGR’s road manager but also been known to drop a rhyme from time to time, as he’s done for this guest spot with Da Inappropriate.

With their loyalty to Ballentine 40 Oz and Polo rugbys, Da Buze Brovaz are certified CRC representatives. Here’s a new Clever One solo for all you fans of man-style drinking and the after-effects of an evening on that hard liquor.

Fresh off lacing the Counterstrike 2 tape with an exclusive burner, Him-Lo has thrown me a new track with his brother Clever One and The Great Dot X, aka three seasoned gentlemen who will drink you under the table without a second thought.

Him-Lo has been dropping music on these here internets for the past couple of years, but it wasn’t until his Horsepower mixtape that I really paid attention. Turns out this Philly Lo-Lifer has been deep in this here shit since the golden era of Philadelphia hip-hop, and his brand of non-progressive, anti-social rap is just what the city needs right now.

Robbie: How did you get started?

Him-Lo: We’ve been rhyming for a long time, ever since we were teenagers. We were part of a few different crews before we cut it down to just me and Clever One – The Buze Bruvaz. We were also in a group called Bermuda Triangle at one point with a few other members, we grew up with them also. Clever One, that’s my brother, and those other dudes we were at grammar school with, so we’ve been rhyming for a long time. Matter of fact, when we started rhyming the game was completely different. Now everybody’s rhyming. We would go somewhere and when people found out we were doing this they were excited, “Oh, you rap? Kick a rap for us!” It was so different at the time. So we were doing it at a young age, and I’m 40 now. We were so heavy into hip-hop at such an early age – not just the rapping, all aspects of it – we grew up as graffiti writers, battling people and breakdancing, deejaying, doing everything. That’s why even at this age now we still do it, just for fun. It’s what we do, we can’t really shake it!(more…)

Philidelphia’s own Lushlife caught my ear in 2012 with his Plateau Vision album, which saw him realize the potential heard on Cassette City and match the quality of his production with his rhymes. Currently working on a new album with producers CSLSX, I caught-up with Lushlife over the phone while he was midway through attempting to enjoy pizza and beer at a local bar to find out what inspired him to channel “Broken Language,” his appreciation for The LOX and why drinks cost so much in London.

Robbie: Did you start out as a producer or a rapper?

Lushlife: It didn’t even occur to me that I would rap. I had been making beats and doing production for many years, and I didn’t even want to go into the world of trying to find people to rhyme over my instrumentals. The moment that I got a mic at 20 – after a lifetime of listening and memorising rap songs – something just came out. As a hip-hop fan, I was like, “This is worthwhile shit!” So I just ran with that. The MC side of it came way second.(more…)